Vancouver home sales post weakest June in almost 20 years

by Steve Randall04 Jul 2019

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Vancouver home sales post weakest June in almost 20 years

Home sales remain weaker than usual in the Metro Vancouver with June posting its lowest total since 2000.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says that sales in the month lagged the 10-year average by 34.7% with 2,077 total sales. That’s 14.4% below June 2018 and 21.3% below the total sales in May 2019.

"We’re continuing to see an expectation gap between home buyers and sellers in Metro Vancouver. Sellers are often trying to get yesterday’s values for their homes while buyers are taking a cautious, wait-and-see approach,” said Ashley Smith, REBGV president.

As buyers hold back, inventory is rising with 4,751 listed in June, down 10% year-over-year and down 18.8% month-over-month. That has taken total homes for sale on the MLS to 14,968, up 25.3% year-over-year and up 1.9% month-over-month.

“Home buyers haven’t had this much selection to choose from in five years,” Smith said

Prices under pressure

The slow sales environment in the region continues to put downward pressure on prices.

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $998,700, the first time in 2 years that this has been below $1 million.

The benchmark price was down 9.6% from June 2018 and down 0.8% from May 2019.

Property type stats

Sales of detached homes in June 2019 reached 746, a 2.6% decrease from the 766 detached sales recorded in June 2018. The benchmark price for detached properties is $1,423,500. This represents a 10.9% decrease from June 2018 and a 0.1% increase compared to May 2019.

Sales of apartment homes reached 941 in June 2019, a 24.1% decrease compared to the 1,240 sales in June 2018. The benchmark price of an apartment property is $654,700. This represents an 8.9% decrease from June 2018 and a 1.4% decrease compared to May 2019.

Attached home sales in June 2019 totalled 390, a 6.9% decrease compared to the 419 sales in June 2018. The benchmark price of an attached unit is $774,700. This represents an 8.6% decrease from June 2018 and a 0.6% decrease compared to May 2019.